Craving Carlo (The Adamos Book 3) Read online

  Craving Carlo

  An Adamo Story

  Mia Madison

  Contents

  1. Commando Guy

  2. Impossible Promise

  3. Stay Away From Me

  4. Not What I See

  5. Crazy Knife Guy

  6. Steel Beam

  7. Tell Me Why

  8. Dangerous People

  9. Hot Guys Convention

  10. Locking Down

  11. Thingness

  12. Hazard Pay

  13. Where We Heading?

  14. Courage

  15. Waiting For A Purpose

  16. Finish What We Started

  17. I Knew What It Meant

  18. You’re Here Now

  19. Reverie

  20. Into Next Week

  21. Benediction

  22. Just My Imagination

  23. Commitment

  24. Complete Details

  25. Too Close

  26. Garbage

  27. You Are The Fire

  28. Don’t Break

  29. Knife’s Edge

  30. Like A Stake

  31. Believe It

  Epilogue

  Also by Mia Madison

  About the Author

  CRAVING CARLO

  Copyright 2016 Mia Madison

  All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the author or publisher except for the use of brief quotations in critical articles or reviews.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, places, businesses, characters and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead, actual events or locales is purely coincidental.

  This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each person. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

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  1

  Commando Guy

  My friends are crazy.

  It’s an evening shift at Revved Café and things are hopping, but Cait and Erin, when their paths cross, sometimes whisper and giggle together. Cait’s a cute little brunette, and Erin’s taller and blonde, but at those moments they’re like twins. See, in the last few weeks, they’ve both fallen for these bossy Italian alpha males, and they’re over the moon about finding their true loves.

  They’re my friends, so I’m happy for them. But I think they’re insane, getting all wrapped up in these macho take-charge men. Who needs a guy who orders you around all the time? Not me.

  Still, every now and then Kosta will drop by the café while Erin is working, and I see it. The way he looks at her. The way she glows from the inside out, just having him near. Same for Tonio and Cait, whenever they’re in the same room together.

  And even though I know better, whenever it happens I get a pang in my heart. An ugly pain that cries, What about me?

  Pathetic, I know. Some kind of friend I am. So I do my best to shove those feelings so far down that they can’t ever get out. Sometimes they escape until I can lock them up again, but never for long.

  The universe must be determined to test me, though. Because here they come now, Constantine and Antonio Adamo, aka Kosta and Tonio, walking into Revved Café, thereby upping the sexiness quotient of the place by approximately ten thousand percent.

  There are twenty gazillion Adamos in the state and surrounding regions, and all the men — at least the ones I’ve seen — are hot as hell. Tall, broad-shouldered, dark-haired sex gods.

  Tonio and Kosta are cousins, not brothers, but they both have that Adamo stamp. They stroll in like they own the place — which they don’t. Kosta owns a nightclub, which is where he met Erin, and Tonio is a billionaire and owns a little bit of everything, but some of their other cousins own Revved.

  When Cait and Erin catch sight of their men, they naturally get all excited. I’m closer to the entrance, but Cait grabs a couple of menus and scurries over to seat them, biting her lip, smoothing back her long, dark hair, and looking up at Tonio under her lashes. From the look she gets back, those two had better find a room before they get arrested for public indecency.

  She shows them to a booth, and they’ve no sooner sat down than Erin’s there with their drinks. Once she’s delivered them, Kosta takes her hand, running his thumb over the inside of her wrist. Even with her back to me I can tell she’s about to melt into a puddle of lust, and I get another twinge of envy deep inside.

  What I need is a non-bossy Adamo man. There have to be some, right? All that sexy without the need to give orders all the time?

  Maybe I’ll put in a request with Erin and Cait, ask them to keep an eye out for any likely prospects. Nothing long-term, just some nice vigorous stress release. I’ve been too busy, between work and college, to date anyone.

  My friends aren’t the only ones thrilled that their hot Adamo men are here. Every other woman in the place is happy about it too, even though Kosta and Tonio only have eyes for their girls. The air is so thick with endorphins and pheromones, if I’m not careful I might get dizzy.

  Cait rushes up to me. “You have to take their orders.”

  “What?” I know I’m giving her a you are plumb loco look, but I can’t help it. “Why would you want me to wait on them?”

  “Because Erin and I will spontaneously combust if we try to do it.”

  “Geez.” I really don’t need an overdose of testosterone. “This isn’t junior high, Cait.”

  “Please, Gina.”

  Erin joins us then. “We’re using you,” she says far more bluntly. “You can handle it.”

  I stare at them both, and then the light dawns. “Seriously? You’re playing hard to get so you’ll get in trouble?” This, in alpha-land, is called having fun. Naughty girls get punished in ways that my crazy friends apparently like a whole lot.

  They smirk, and I shake my head. “Both of you are nuts. You know that, right?”

  “Thanks, Gina,” Cait says with her adorable little grin.

  “You owe me,” I tell them, and approach Sexy Central with my order pad out. The men look up at me and frown. “Don’t shoot the messenger. I’ve been asked to take your orders.”

  Kosta’s immediately amused, his amber eyes almost glowing, a little smile curving his lips that really makes me wonder about the games he and Erin must play. Tonio’s not exactly smiling, but his dark brown, almost-black eyes have a gleam in them that says challenge accepted. I gotta say, kudos to Cait. Looking at her, you’d think she’s a pushover; but clearly not, if she goes nose-to-nose with this man on the regular.

  Tonio wants the fried chicken dinner, and Kosta the pot roast. Since Erin and Cait have foisted me on their men — or is that vice-versa? — I might as well take advantage of it. It’ll be good practice for an eventual Adamo assignation. “What?” I say. “No lasagna?”

  Two pairs of eyes skewer me, and I burst out laughing. “It is Vic’s lasagna, after all,” I add teasingly.

  “Please,” Kosta says in mock disgust, and I snicker. Victor is the younger brother of Dante and Rico, the Adamo twins who own Revved. Originally it was a garage and parts store, hence the name; but they bought the adjacent café a few years ago, to give their many customers a place to hang out.

  Vic is a great cook and all the food here is really good, but I know from Cait and Erin that Adamo men take their Italian food seriously and most of them are pretty good at making it. They wouldn’t dream of ordering lasagna in a restaurant, even a family-owned
one.

  “I’ll be back in a minute with your soup and salad,” I tell them, and go to the pass-through to hang up their ticket. The girls have been taking care of customers, but they descend on me as soon as I’m away from the booth.

  “What were you laughing about?” Erin demands.

  “I asked them why they weren’t ordering the lasagna.”

  This gets me matching snorts. “You’re so bad,” Cait says. “I love it. I think I’m going to start teasing Tonio about ordering Italian whenever we go out to eat.”

  “Just be careful about flirting with our men,” Erin says with a wink.

  She doesn’t really mean it, but it’s a good opening. I roll my eyes at her. “Please; we’ve been over this. The day I tangle with an alpha male, put me in a padded cell. I’ve been meaning to ask you, though. Have you met any single Adamo men who aren’t insanely bossy?”

  The girls look thoughtful. “There’s Paolo,” Erin says after a moment.

  “Yeah?” Good thing I asked. “Is he cute?”

  “Adorable. Of course, he’s only six months old.”

  She and Cait laugh so hard they’re bent over. I roll my eyes and grab a soup bowl, but before I can fill it a hush falls over the room. Behind me, Erin sucks in her breath and then Cait says in a whisper, “Oh my god. Is that Commando Guy?”

  2

  Impossible Promise

  I turn around and it’s a good thing I hadn’t dished up that soup or it would be all over the floor, because my brain has disconnected. Erin’s answering whisper, “Yeah,” barely registers.

  The man who’s just entered the restaurant stands at least six foot six, maybe even taller. He’s built of tightly compacted muscle, lots of it. His thighs and arms and chest are massive, but it’s all proportionate, not bulky. He’s not a bodybuilder; he’s just big. Like a sculpture come to life, covered in warm, touchable flesh. My fingers itch for a sketchpad … but even more, they want to be exploring the contoured surface of all that delicious hardness.

  His mouthwatering looks are topped off with dark hair worn short, deep, dark eyes, a strong jaw with sexy stubble, and a mouth I could fantasize about until I’m old and gray. He’s the most amazing man I’ve ever seen. I’m a big girl, and I could climb him like a jungle gym.

  In a heartbeat, wet heat pools between my thighs.

  Then Antonio is greeting him, followed by Kosta, both of them doing that back-slapping thing that passes for a hug between men. If I hadn’t been so dazed, I would have realized it right away. Of course he’s an Adamo; same sex-god looks, just a larger model.

  I’m vaguely aware that Cait and Erin are looking at me, then each other. Tonio gives Cait a chin lift, calling her over to meet the new guy, which means Erin too. Just as well I’m not included.

  Except I am, because without a word of warning my friends each grab one of my hands and drag me along with them. There’s no way to demur without making a scene, so a few seconds later I find myself in front of the man Cait called Commando Guy.

  Up close, he’s older than he seemed at a distance; his skin shows signs of spending a lot of time outdoors, and he has crinkles around his eyes and silver threads in his hair. But even more, he’s got that aura that only older guys acquire — the one that says he doesn’t need to brag, because he knows exactly what he’s capable of.

  It takes him from sexy to devastating.

  I’ve got my head tilted back because he’s so tall. His eyes skim over Erin and Cait and land on me, and my breath goes shallow. There’s a spark in them, not of anger but of life, and I suddenly understand what Cait meant about spontaneous combustion.

  “Carlo,” Tonio says, “this is Caitlin Miller. Cait, my brother Carlo.”

  His brother? Oh boy. Tonio is the most intimidating man I know; even Erin agrees with me on that. He wears an air of command like a second skin.

  Commando Guy — Carlo — does too, though for reasons I can’t explain his is more tempting than scary. Kosta seems more low-key at first, but you can tell by the way he carries himself that he’s not the kind of man you mess with. Frankly, with this much alpha dominance in close proximity, I’m kind of amazed the room isn’t exploding.

  But all of this confirms that Carlo Adamo is strictly in the look-but-don’t-touch category. A man with the nickname Commando Guy, who’s hot enough to melt steel, and is Antonio Adamo’s brother? No way he could be anything but another uber-bossy alpha male.

  Which means I need to keep him strictly on the fantasy list. Not that anything was ever going to happen between me and this gorgeous man anyway, no matter how much my body might be willing. But it’s good to know exactly what I’m dealing with, so I can rein myself in if my hormones start to get carried away.

  All of this goes through my mind in the couple of seconds while Cait and Carlo are say hello, and then Kosta introduces Erin. In a soft voice, she says, “I never got to thank you.” She must be talking about the drama that happened while she and Kosta were getting together.

  “No thanks necessary.” Even Carlo’s voice is sexy, deep and warm and resonant. I already know it’s going to play a starring role in my fantasies.

  And then Tonio says, “And this is their friend, Gina Driscoll.”

  I’m not prepared for contact. His hand envelops mine in a firm, warm, slightly rough grip, and as soon as he touches me every single cell in my body bursts into a mating dance. The only possible words I can speak are Take me. Take me now. If he wanted to have sex right here and now in front of everyone, I’d be on board.

  Which is why, with a superhuman act of will, I force through my reluctant lips, “Nice to meet you. If you’ll excuse me, I have to get back to work.”

  And then I pull my hand free, turn so fast I almost go off-balance, and walk away before I can sabotage my life with the impossible promise of Carlo Adamo.

  3

  Stay Away From Me

  When I reach the waitresses’ prep area between the counter and the kitchen, I’m trembling. Rudeness isn’t my style. I’m shaken by all of it — not only the fact that my perfect fantasy man exists, but that I can’t resist him. Usually I can keep guys, even the hot ones, at a distance with no trouble.

  Now that my flight instincts are dying down, I’m ashamed at my behavior. I hope they don’t think too badly of me. Grabbing the soup bowl, I reach for a ladle, but the next moment my hands are empty and Carlo’s holding one of them. Vital areas of my body start tingling and don’t stop.

  “What — you —” is all I can sputter as he tugs me along toward the employees-only area of the restaurant. He doesn’t stop until he’s pulled me inside the office. It’s dark, but there’s light coming from the hallway and he doesn’t shut the door all the way.

  He turns to me and I automatically back up against the wall, putting as much space between us as possible. Which is not very much, since he braces his arm on the wall above my head, fencing me in. “We got a problem?” he says in that sexy-as-sin voice.

  He’s so close, so big, so warm. I want to tear off his tight black t-shirt and run my hands over all the muscle rippling beneath it. But I don’t understand his question. “What?”

  “You heard me. Don’t make me repeat it.”

  And there it is, the bossiness. Predictable as the sunrise. And just as predictably, it puts my back up. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I say in a tight voice. “We don’t know each other. How could we possibly have a problem?”

  “And yet you’re actin’ like we got a problem.”

  He smells good enough to eat. Part of me wants to do just that, and part of me is furious at how pushy he’s being. Naturally, I go with the angry side.

  “My only problem with you is right now. How have you survived this long?” I demand. One dark brow arches in inquiry. “I’m surprised some woman hasn’t strangled you in your sleep by now.”

  A slow smile curves his mouth and I want to spend the next week kissing him. “I’m not that easy to kill, angel.” His finge
rs snag a bit of my hair that’s come loose, playing with the strands. “Guess it’s true what they say about redheads. I like your fire.”

  There’s a fire, all right; my ovaries are bubbling away like they’re mounted over twin Bunsen burners. If he doesn’t get out of my face, I’m either going to jump him or destroy him. He may be Commando Guy, but he’s never dealt with a woman deranged by lust and fury.

  “Go away,” I demand. I’m being rude again, but I can’t help it. “Please,” I add as a scatterbrained afterthought.

  Carlo tips his head closer to mine. “Now that, that’s a problem.”

  “What?” I’m not even sure what he’s referring to. “Why?”

  One hand comes up to cup the side of my face. My breath catches. Before I can stop myself my head leans into his palm, rubbing against it like a cat.

  “Hot and sweet,” he says. A tiny corner of my brain notes that he must be deranged too, if he thinks I’m sweet. His thumb brushes just under my lower lip, and again my body acts before I have any conscious awareness of the impulse. I suck him into my mouth and bite down, and his dark eyes turn black.

  “Give me that mouth, angel,” he orders, and my last tenuous hold on sanity disappears. I launch myself at him and he catches me, lifting me easily so my legs can wrap around his waist. My arms lock around his neck, our mouths meet, and I learn exactly what it’s like to spontaneously combust.

  Carlo backs me up against the wall, both hands under my ass. Our tongues touch and the kiss gets deeper and wilder. His hips rotate, grinding his ohmygod erection against my clit, and my frantic hands yank his t-shirt up so they can roam over bare skin and smooth, hard muscle.

  Pressure’s building in my core, tightening and twisting and coiling, but I don’t expect to actually come so I’m shocked when I do, sensation exploding through me in waves, rippling out and back again. I shudder against him and he breaks the kiss, leaning his forehead against mine, both of us breathing hard.